World Rejector

Chapter 1: World Divided

Two hundred years ago, the world changed.

The event that came to be known as Overdrive reshaped everything we learned. Overnight, people awakened powers that defied the natural order. Some moved objects with their minds. Others bent fire to their will. A rare few rewrote the very rules of physics. And that was just the beginning.

Abilities took countless forms—strange, beautiful, terrifying.

People discovered they had been chosen by something called the System, an unseen force that granted them power… and purpose.

Those who awakened became known as Ability Users, stepping into a new world of potential. They became the architects of a new era, fueling innovation, warfare, technology, and dominance. Nations rose and crumbled on the backs of these empowered individuals.

But not all of us were awakened.

Some were left behind.

We were labeled rejects—the ones the System ignored. Powerless. Ordinary. In a world obsessed with strength, we were cast to the side. Pitied when acknowledged. Ignored when not.

It didn’t matter how hard you worked or how badly you wanted it. If the System didn’t choose you, then you were nothing.

At least, that’s what they wanted us to believe.

This is the story of what happens when someone who was never supposed to awaken—finally does.

In a world where fate seems written in stone, one boy gains the power to erase it entirely.

…

The coffee in front of me had gone cold.

Not that I cared.

It was just something to hold—something to keep my hands occupied as I sat across from Mio.

The café was warm and quiet, filled with the low murmur of voices and the soft clink of cups and spoons. Outside, rain drizzled against the glass like background noise—steady, relentless.

She hadn’t touched her drink either.

Mio stared down at the table, her fingers tracing slow, nervous circles around the rim of her cup. I recognized the look on her face. It was the same one she wore whenever she was about to say something I wasn’t going to like.

My stomach tightened.

“Don’t do this,” I said, barely above a whisper.

She sighed, lifting her eyes to meet mine. There was no anger in them. Just quiet resolve.

“Noah… I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Her words landed like a punch to the chest.

I blinked. “...What?”

“I don’t think we should be together anymore.”

I laughed, but the sound was hollow. “Okay. That’s a joke, right? You can stop now.”

“I’m serious.”

Something in her tone made it undeniable. Mio wasn’t joking. Not even a little.

“But… why?” I asked. My voice came out thinner than I wanted. “Did I do something wrong?”

She didn’t answer right away. The silence dragged out between us like a blade.

Finally, she pushed her cup aside. “I don’t want to be with a loser, Noah.”

Something in me cracked. “A loser?”

She flinched, but she didn’t take it back.

“You don’t have an ability,” she said, softer this time, like whispering would dull the sting. “You’re barely keeping up at university. You’re always struggling. And I just… I don’t want to be tied down to someone like that. Not here. Please try to understand.”

My heart pounded in my chest.

Neo Silicon Valley was built on the backs of ability users. And for those of us who never awakened—no matter how hard we tried—we were seen as nothing more than background noise.

No matter how much I worked. How many hours I spent. How many sleepless nights I suffered. I was still powerless. Still worthless in their eyes.

And now Mio, my girlfriend, was looking at me like I was dead weight.

“You didn’t used to care about any of that,” I muttered.

She looked away. “People change.”

I wanted to scream. To tell her she was wrong. That I had come to this island to prove everyone wrong. That I was someone.

But what was the point?

She had already made her choice.

I exhaled, long and slow. Then I stood, grabbed my bag, and slung it over my shoulder. “Yeah… I figured.”

She looked up, like she expected me to say more.

I didn’t.

I just walked out.

The rain was still falling when I left the café.

Neon lights flickered against the wet pavement, their reflections smeared across puddles in a blur of color. I shoved my hands deep into my jacket pockets and walked. No destination. Just… away.

Mio’s voice echoed in my head, sharper now in the quiet.

I don’t want to be with a loser.

You’re struggling.

I don’t want to be tied down to someone like that.

I clenched my jaw. “Tch. Figures.”

I had nothing left.

My parents disowned me when I left home to chase a dream they called foolish. My so-called friends at university? They all awakened abilities and moved on without me—leaving me in the dust.

And now, Mio was gone too.

Maybe this was just how it was meant to be. Maybe I really was meant to fail.

I kicked a loose stone across the street. It skipped through a puddle and bounced off the curb.

Then I heard it.

A metallic groan. From above.

I looked up.

A little girl stood frozen on the sidewalk ahead of me. Wide-eyed. Motionless. Staring up at the construction crane as several massive steel pipes came loose—falling straight toward her.

I didn’t think.

“Shit—!”

I ran.

The world blurred. My feet pounded through puddles. The air rushed past me like a scream.

The girl didn’t move. Still frozen in fear.

I lunged.

I shoved her with everything I had—just in time.

Then—white.

…

I was floating.

Or maybe falling.

There was no pain. No sound. Just a hollow, weightless void. Like the world had shut itself off.

Was I dead?

I let out a breath. Even here, in this emptiness, the weight remained in my chest.

Mio’s words. My failures. My rejection.

I had been pushed aside by everyone.

My parents.

My friends.

Society.

And even at the very end, I had no power of my own.

I laughed bitterly. It echoed strangely in the dark.

“I want everything to just disappear…”

Then something changed.

A soft glow sparked in the distance. Barely there at first—like a flicker of hope.

Then a pulse. Steady. Rhythmic. Like a heartbeat.

And then, right in front of me, something appeared. A notification.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATED: Ability Acquired: WORLD REJECTER]

My breath caught in my throat.

The glow flared, rushing into me like a storm. Heat surged through my veins. My heart thundered. Every cell in my body screamed.

Then…

I opened my eyes.

The rain had stopped.

The massive pipe that should’ve crushed me was gone.

Not broken.

Not dented.

Just… gone. Erased from reality as if it had never existed at all.

I stared at the empty street, my hands trembling.

I could feel it.

Something inside me had shifted—permanently.

This was real.

I wasn’t powerless anymore.

At that moment, I can feel that everything was going to change.

Forever… For better and worst.